Biomass Week - March 11, 2016

Oregon ups RPS, goes coal free Oregon has passed a bill that doubles its renewable portfolio standard (RPS), phases out coal power by 2025 and provides incentives to energy efficiency, small- and community-scale renewable projects and some existing biomass energy plants. READ MORE SHARE
Finalists chosen for international pellet stove competition The Alliance for Green Heat and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recently announced that seven pellet stoves have been chosen as finalists in the Pellet Stove Design Challenge. READ MORE SHARE
	Maine bill encourages the purchase of locally produced pellets Legislation recently introduced in Maine aims to support local pellet producers by encouraging public postsecondary educational institutions to give preference to Maine producers when entering into heating fuel contracts. READ MORE SHARE
Corbion plans bioplastic production plant in Thailand Netherlands-based Corbion recently announced it has completed pre-engineering for a 75,000-ton-per-year (polylactic acid) PLA polymerization plant, and is entering the basic-engineering phase. READ MORE SHARE
Port of Tyne reports record shipment of wood pellets The Port of Tyne recently recorded the largest ever cargo of wood pellets ever handled in a single shipment at the port. The MV Agnes bulk cargo vessel delivered a record 57,845 metric tons of wood pellets into the Port of Tyne. READ MORE SHARE
House hearing focuses on DOE loan guarantee program On March 3, two subcommittees associated with the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology held an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program. Abengoa projects were among those discussed during the event. READ MORE SHARE
EIA predicts increased electricity production from renewables The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the March edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting total renewables used in the electric power sector will increase by 8.7 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year. READ MORE SHARE
Amyris reports strong fourth quarter renewable product sales Amyris Inc. has released fourth quarter financial results, reporting GAPP revenues of $9.8 million, down from $11.6 million during the same quarter of the prior year. Product sales reached $5.2 million during the fourth quarter. READ MORE SHARE
Abengoa releases 2015 results, reports lower ethanol margins Abengoa recently released condensed consolidated financial statements for the second half of last year, reporting that it generated nearly EUR 5.76 billion ($6.34 billion) in revenues and EUR 515 million in EBITDA during 2015. READ MORE SHARE
UK proposal to reform RHI negatively impacts biomass, biogas On March 3, the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change launched a consultation on reforms to the Renewable Heat Incentive. READ MORE SHARE
AEBIOM gives feedback on new renewable energy directive post-2020 AEBIOM recently responded to the public consultation on the preparation of a new renewable energy directive for the period post-2020. The renewable energy package is part of the European Commission’s Energy Union Framework Strategy. READ MORE SHARE
BTEC announces new executive director Jeff Serfass The board of directors of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council officially announced the appointment of Jeff Serfass to take over for Joel Stronberg as BTEC's executive director. Serfass led the organization in its formative years in 2009 and 2010. READ MORE SHARE
UT, Genera Energy harvest hybrid poplar stand A small stand of poplar trees harvested from a University of Tennessee AgResearch Center is set to help scientists progress further down the path toward low-cost, high-quality biomass and a bioeconomy. READ MORE SHARE
Lux Research: Southeast Asia promising hub for biobased chemicals Driven by large and widespread feedstocks and government incentives, Southeast Asia is positioned to be a hub for biobased materials and chemicals (BBMC), according to Lux Research. READ MORE SHARE
Comet Biorefining awarded $10.9 million SDTC grant Sustainable Development Technology Canada has awarded Comet Biorefining, Inc. a grant of CA$10.9 million ($8.2 million) for the construction of its first-of-a-kind advanced biobased chemicals plant in Sarnia, Ontario. READ MORE SHARE
IDB supports construction of pulp mill, 255 MW biomass plant The Inter-American Development Bank has joined efforts with Klabin S.A. to finance the construction of a pulp mill in Brazil. The mill will include a 255 MW biomass facility that will sell 56 percent of its energy surplus to the national grid. READ MORE SHARE
Record high renewable energy use reported in Hawaii The Hawaiian Electric Companies reported the data in the annual renewable portfolio standard (RPS) report filed with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. The consolidated RPS for the companies was 23.2 percent last year. READ MORE SHARE
Optimizing biofuel production from algae using CO2 emissions A research team reports in American Chemical Society’s journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research an optimized way of producing biofuel from algae that also removes CO2 emissions from the environment. READ MORE SHARE
Researchers: Chemical snapshot unveils path to greener biofuel Chemists at the University of Copenhagen have taken a leap ahead in understanding how lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases work, by showing how these enzymes bind to cellulose. READ MORE SHARE
AEG CoalSwitch announces results of test burn AEG CoalSwitch, the renewable energy division of Active Energy Group Plc, recently announced it has received the results from the burn testing of its CoalSwitch fuel at the University of Utah's Clean and Secure Energy Institute. READ MORE SHARE